Death is only the beginning
by dragonsl5
Summary: Betrayed by someone he thought was his friend and denied his true destiny without anyone's knowledge. All this and more have caused Harry's death many times, but now it's time to make things right, after all, death is only the beginning. Rating M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, a new story for you all to hopefully enjoy and I know it's been done probably about a billion times by now but this is a response to the Reptillia28 Don't fear the reaper challenge, with a few extras added in to hopefully spice things up for everyone. If you've read my stories before you'll know that I don't really think much of Ron as a character so he'll be present for a few spots here and there but don't expect to see him more than that and I'll try to keep myself from bashing too much. With that out of the way I don't own Harry Potter, any characters, settings or pretty much anything else you recognize don't belong to me. I hope you all enjoy the story.

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Opening his eyes, Harry could see nothing but white light surrounding him in all directions. He couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him; the thick silvery mist shrouded anything beyond it. Looking down at his clothes, Harry smiled at the Hogwarts student robe covering his body, the grey dress pants still every bit as uncomfortable as he remembered back in his first year, the matching grey sweater with the gold and scarlet trim at the neckline still making him feel like there was something choking him. Running his hands over the black outer robe his smile turned to a frown. The material was completely different from what his robes were normally made of. However his examination of his clothes was cut short as echoing footsteps caught his attention and made him look around again. Noticing a person walking toward him from the silver mist, his instincts took over; Harry reached for his wand, ready to cast a swift disarming charm and _protego_ – only to find it missing from its usual pocket on the inside of his outer robe. Starting to panic as he frantically searched for his wand, Harry jumped as the person spoke, grabbing his attention – he was sure that the figure had been further away from him.

"It's not there, Harry."

Looking at the person in front of him now rather than at his plain white surroundings, Harry did his best to take in every detail, looking for any sign of danger or threat. Unable to identify if the person was male or female Harry keeps his eyes on its arms, crossed in front of its stomach providing easy access to a weapon, hands covered by the sleeves of the white robe it was wearing, hood pulled up to obscure its face. He was even unable to use the voice of the other person to at least identify their gender, as it sounded both muffled yet crystal clear at the same time. He was so worried about spotting any sign of danger that when the person spoke again Harry jumped in surprise once more.

"You have nothing to fear young Harry. I am here to help you. A guide so to speak."

Frowning at the person in front of him, Harry finally decided to respond.

"It's hard to trust someone who goes to such great effort to hide who they are."

A laugh that sounded like it was coming from the void itself was the only response Harry got for a few moments. The figure shook its head and finally moved, making Harry tense up, ready to run if it came to it. The figure's hands looked strong yet capable of moving with grace and speed, long thin fingers gripped the hood and slowly pulled it back to reveal a woman's face, her skin pale, a stark contrast to the deep black hair pulled back into a loose braid that ran down into the back of her robe. Her eyes caught most of his attention though, if they could be called eyes. Two black pools where her eyes should be, drawing him into their endless depths and making him want to turn and run at the same time. Noting that even at his height of 5'7" he had at least 3 inches on her made him smirk internally.

"Is that better Harry? Do you recognize me now?"

There was no response as Harry simply stood there in shock, memories flooding through him, her words like a trigger that broke the seal on his memories. He groaned as he realized that while he hadn't continued to make the same mistakes, he had made new ones that had the same results, his death well before it should have happened. Shaking his head, Harry looks back up at the woman and gives her an apologetic smile.

"I failed again, I'm sorry Athalia. I promise I'm not trying to get you fired."

His comment about not trying to get her fired made her laugh. Athalia shook her head and folded her arms over her chest, looking up at Harry. Sighing internally she taps a finger against her arm; this was his fifth death under her alone. There were 2 others that had been assigned to him, but with 9 deaths under each of them, it was decided that the case would be given to her. Remembering their conversation from his last visit Athalia smiled, things were going to get more interesting for him.

"Okay, I really don't like that smile. It means nothing good for me when you smile like that."

"Oh really Harry? I was just thinking of putting you through a round of training with Zarcon. You remember him right?"

Harry's face went pale as the name rang every warning bell he had and even some he didn't know he had. A shudder ran down his spine. This was a threat used often by Athalia during his visits and after his curiosity got the better of him, he asked why it was so bad to be trained by Zarcon. The only response Harry got was a window opening up to show a man sitting in the corner of an empty room, his grey eyes blank as he muttered softly to himself, pushing further away from the imagined snakes and spiders crawling on him. Athalia said that the man was the latest student of Zarcon, who had just been removed from an assignment to rid him of fear after 10 years of enduring said assignment. Harry never wanted to meet someone less.

"No! I'm sorry, please don't. I don't think the guy you showed me recovered yet has he?"

With a grin that was far more predatory then it should be Athalia just shook her head. She had shown Harry that man on his first visit and they were still trying to get him to speak to other people.

"Then you'll appreciate this suggestion more. We'll have to get you to sign a few forms but given all the trouble we've had with you I don't think we'll have any trouble getting this approved."

Snapping her fingers a simple oak desk appeared with two matching chairs on either side. A single folder was sitting on the desktop, already open as Athalia sat at the desk, motioning for Harry to join her. After Harry joined her, Athalia separated a few sheets and looked them over before speaking.

"Now, all joking aside Harry, with all the trouble you're having it's clear that in order for you to succeed you're going to need some help. These forms will authorize me to allow you to keep your memories, knowledge and magical abilities in tact when you return to life this time, as well as a few other benefits. We'll also be sending you back to one of your previous death points instead of sending you back to your birth. We have also pulled a few more strings and as a result I'm allowed to tell you a few more details in regards to what you need to get done down there."

Nodding grimly Harry sighed, running a hand over his face as he thought about all the failures he'd had. Suddenly he looked at Athalia and knew he had to ask this time.

"Athalia, while we're waiting for this to be approved would it be okay to see my parents?"

Athalia stopped writing instantly as her head shot up to look at Harry. Leaning back in her chair Athalia considered his question; it would take a few moments for the paperwork to be approved and they would have more than enough time to allow Harry a visit with his parents. Sighing softly Athalia smiled at Harry.

"You never ask for anything small do you Harry? It shouldn't be a problem though. We'll have a bit of time while we wait for these forms to be given the okay. We'll have to go over a few things first but it shouldn't be an issue, so let's get through this as quick as we can."

Smiling gratefully at Athalia, Harry nodded and leaned forward eager to get through the forms so he could finally see his parents, a tear forming in his bright green eyes, threatening to fall as he tried keep his mind from thinking of all the things he's missed doing with the two of them. Distracting himself as much as he could, he snorted a little. "I can't believe death involves so much paperwork. There's all us mortals thinking you just…die." To his horror, his uncontrollable laughter didn't help the tears forming. Luckily for him once Athalia got done signing things she kept his mind completely occupied.

"Alright Harry, I've already explained some of this but we need to go a little more in depth as to what you need to get done and what you'll need. First thing, since you've never been allowed to know before now, you have 2 soul mates Harry, meeting and establishing the bond with both of them as early as you can is essential to giving you the best chance you'll have to succeed. I'm only allowed to tell you about one right now but I will be able to tell you when you're about to meet your second who she is."

Stopping to look at Harry, Athalia had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing at the expression on Harry's face, all of the slight agitation she had been feeling long gone through their teasing. Shuffling through papers Athalia grumbled about her own disorganization as she tried find the paper she needed.

"Once I find the right paper I'll be able to tell you her full name, I glanced at this before, some Granger girl I think..."

Anything else that would've been said was cut off as Athalia's words finally cut through the haze of shock that had settled in Harry's mind after finding out he had not one but two soul mates. He'd remembered reading that one was rare enough but two was unheard-of.

"Hermione! You're telling me that I've been best friends with one of my soul mates and I never even noticed?"

Athalia's only response at first was to raise an eyebrow before smirking softly, glad that he wasn't able hear the hysterical laughter in her head.

 _'If this is how he reacts to this I won't be able to stop myself from laughing out loud, if only he knew that this is just the tip of the iceberg.'_

Shaking her head Athalia sighed again to compose herself as she looked at her still stunned client.

"If that shocked you Harry, get ready because once I tell you why you didn't notice you're going to faint."

Watching him closely, Athalia saw what little colour Harry got back drain from his face at her words and smiled at his gesture, telling her to get on with it.

"We've been watching you this last run through Harry, quite closely. What we've found made us look through your other past lives. What we found shocked even us. The reason you haven't been able the initiate your bond with Hermione, is because of a certain few people putting potions in your food and drinks. Before I tell you who, you need to know that this behaviour is because of only a few. Molly was getting Ron to put potions in your drinks to keep you and Hermione apart; she was set on you and Hermione marrying into her family. Her methods leave something to be desired but her intentions were not malicious Harry. Molly wanted you to be happy, thinking you would be happiest with her children, unfortunately her efforts are a large part of the reasons why you've failed."

Leaning back in her chair once again, Athalia decided to wait before continuing. The look of shock on Harry's face was immense. She doubted anything she could've said would've been heard let alone understood by him at this point. It was several minutes later when Harry swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded for her to continue.

"I can't imagine how hard this is but I want you to remember one thing Harry, Molly was not trying to harm you, she wouldn't even have attempted to do this if it wasn't for Ron. When he saw you and Hermione getting close, he couldn't stand it. He'd wanted Hermione for himself but in true Ron Weasley fashion, thought it should be handed to him. We're not sure why, but Ron is more of a pureblood bigot than the Malfoys are, he just hides it a little better in most cases."

Giving Harry another few moments to digest these latest facts thrown at him that turned everything he knew on its head, Athalia started digging for a few more papers in the stack sitting in the folder. Pulling them out when she finally found them, Athalia quickly shuffled through them to check and make sure she had some of the details right before putting them aside.

"Now, we need to move on to your school work. There's a reason why you haven't been doing that well in classes, when you arrived at the Dursley's Dumbledore placed a binding on your magical core that had two purposes. The first was to strengthen it; this binding was meant to limit your magical reserves while simultaneously increasing your core capacity by using the ambient magic from the wards he placed around house to augment your core. The second was to keep the amount of accidental magic to a minimum. Unfortunately because he didn't know about the Horcruxes Riddle made until your second year and didn't suspect you were one until your sixth, he couldn't have known that the part of Riddle's soul in your scar would interfere with not only the binding but the wards as well. The binding should've dissipated by the time you got your letter for Hogwarts, but because of the interference, it's still active. The plus side is you're immensely powerful, much more than either Dumbledore or Riddle, once you're able to use those reserves that is. The downside is, that's what has been affecting your body so negatively. Your eyesight shouldn't be even half as bad as it currently is and your body should be easily able to recover from the malnutrition and scarring from your relatives. Speaking of your relatives, the connection between the wards and your binding and thus the Horcrux and your binding is also why you were treated as you were. Your relatives don't hate you Harry, the Horcrux was using its connection to the wards to make her, your uncle and cousin hate you."

Athalia watched as Harry's eyes widened at this revelation. He wasn't hated by his relatives – this was a new perspective completely. With all the research he had done on Horcruxes Harry never knew that the one in his scar was affecting his life in so many ways. Looking up at Athalia, Harry nodded and after a few seconds he spoke, already dreading her answer.

"What can be done to fix this Athalia? Is there a way we can remove it and change how I've been treated?"

"That's a bit of a difficult question to answer Harry, first we need to decide when you'll be going back. There's a few moments that are perfect for us send you back to, but regardless of when we send you back we have to send you back with the Horcrux intact, it can be removed but you'll need to see the Goblins and get their help. You can get their help removing the Horcruxes from all of the items without destroying them as well. Unfortunately, Harry, the effects of the Horcrux will be only weakened for your relatives, they'll need medical attention to fully recover from the effects but they'll be more willing to do so once the Horcrux isn't effecting them."

Nodding to Athalia and running a hand through his hair, Harry took a few seconds to think about some things before asking his next question.

"What are my options for when I return?"

Once again reaching for her file, Athalia opened it and pulled 3 papers out if it and looked them over, noting the dates and laying them next to the folder.

"You have 3 options Harry, all on your birthday, before your first, third, and fourth years. The only reason why we can do these three days is you've died on all three while I've been your death. These are your best options, the other two will be too late to make the changes you need to."

Crossing his arms over his stomach, Harry leaned back in his chair, considering his options and what he wanted to change about this run-through. Resting his closed fist against his chin Harry was so focused on when to go back, he didn't see Athalia's smirk. Half proud that she was able help guide Harry to be the person he is now and half glad that her surprise for Harry had arrived. Harry continued deliberating for another few minutes, before looking up at Athalia.

"I think third year would be best, I can write Professor McGonagall and change my subjects around, I won't be taking Divination this time around. It's time for me to take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy this time. I'm sure my mom would be very happy to hear me say that."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that you're taking your studies more seriously."

Harry's eyes widened and he stood slowly at hearing a third voice in the room with them, that voice had haunted and sustained him in some of the toughest moments in his many lives. Turning with tears threatening to fall from his eyes, Harry was finally able to see why people said he had his mother's eyes, it was almost disconcerting to see eyes that matched his own exactly staring back at him and Harry couldn't help noticing the tears in her eyes as well. Deep crimson hair flowed down her back, and Harry failed to prevent a wide smile spreading over his face as he saw his father's arms wrapped around her, even in death they were inseparable. Looking over his father Harry had to admit, aside from his eyes he was a carbon copy of his father - their hair was even identical in its messiness. Finally able to pull himself together, Harry walked forward and for the first time in his memory, hugged both of his parents tightly, tears finally spilling from his eyes as his forehead rested against his mother's shoulder. He felt his father's arms wrap around both him and his mother and his smile widened impossibly as he felt the warmth that was the love from his parents. He knew that this time he would succeed, not just for himself, not just for Hermione and not just for the rest of the magical Britain, but for his parents as well. He would make them proud.

Failure was no longer an option for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, well, I certainly didn't expect such a good reaction to the first chapter of this story, but thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited or followed. I have a few answers to the questions asked in the reviews but I'll try to keep it brief so you don't have a wall of text to get through before my mediocre story haha.

Stormbow: I'm glad you think I'm treating the challenge well so far, they're some of my favourites as well, that's why I decided to write this. You're right about the way I treated Molly, one of the things I'm trying to improve is how I word things to get my meaning across properly so, I'll probably have more of these moments in the rest of the story. I do have the 3rd member of the new "golden trio" picked out, but thanks for the offer of help.

JuliSt: Your question about Ron wanting Hermione if he's a pureblood bigot is another moment that I mentioned in my response to Strongbow, I'll be trying to fix both of those parts so the story flows and works a little bit better. And Molly is still going to get what's due for her part in the potions.

Elvander72: Definitely not going with any of the girls from your list of normal, I don't have any problems with those characters, some of them will have a bigger role in this story than in cannon though.

Just as a side note, this chapter was already finished when I posted the first chapter so don't expect quick posting times like this all the time. It should be about a week or two at most between chapters. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have everyone, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

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Death is only the beginning

Chapter 2

Pulling himself away from his parents, Harry smiled up at them, his hands shaking as he turned back to Athalia and nodded, eager to get the formalities out of the way so he could spend more time with his parents.

"Alright, we've decided on when I'll go back, what else do I need to know?"

Reaching for her file once again, Athalia pulled out another sheet of paper. Looking over the list of items on the list, she made note of the more important things that Harry needed to do.

"Well, first off, you'll need to get to the Goblins as soon as you can, the sooner you get that Horcrux out of you the better. You'll also need to talk to them about assisting you in disposing of the other Horcruxes, that should be easy though, the Goblins don't think much of people who make them, the last time the Goblins found out about a wizard trying to make a Horcrux they made sure he didn't succeed. Sneaky buggers tricked him into casting a spell against a Goblin in Gringotts so they could legally kill him."

Harry winced as he listened to Athalia tell him about the unfortunate wizard and made a mental note not to take the Goblins lightly. He vowed to treat them with as much respect as he was able.

"Now, you have two options regarding the binding of your core, we can release it now or you can have Dumbledore or the Goblins remove it. One of the things we were able to do is get approval to put you through a strengthening ritual, it can be done with the binding on and your core will continue to be strengthened by the wards until you have it removed but you won't benefit from the ritual as much. It's up to you, your core will be roughly the same strength either way."

Frowning, Harry crossed his arms over his chest as he thought, noticing that his parents had moved to stand behind him, one of their hands on either of his shoulder, James on his right and Lily on his left, letting him know without words that they would support him regardless of what he chose. Harry's eyes widened as he had a thought about the situation regarding the wards and his Horcrux.

"Wait Athalia, if I have the binding removed won't that sever the connection between the Horcrux and the wards? Will that help my relatives' recovery?"

As Harry looked over at Athalia, he noticed the look that his parents and Athalia were giving him and smiled, knowing that they were surprised about his concern for his relatives after everything that happened to him at their hands. A few of his deaths were even at Vernon's hands – or at least a result of his heavy-handedness and starvation tactics - once the Horcrux had a strong enough connection to the wards.

"We didn't consider that Harry, it just might, let me check some things and I'll tell you."

Nodding to Athalia, Harry smiled as he felt his mother kiss his forehead. Closing his eyes he did his best to embed this feeling into his memory, feeling the love his mother had for him wash over him, like a wave of warmth. Her voice so low, yet crystal clear, nearly brought a tear to his eye as he rarely heard it aside from the issues with the Dementors, and Harry found himself enjoying the almost melodic quality of her voice.

"I'm proud of you Harry, you've grown up to be such a good man. I only wish we could've been there to help you grow into the man you are now."

"It's not their fault Mom, the Horcrux twisted the wards, they shouldn't be blamed, Riddle is the one who should be blamed."

Smiling at the interaction between Harry and Lily, Athalia couldn't help but feel happy. Harry had quickly become her favourite. She had overseen so many peoples' deaths, almost none of the people got a second chance let alone a 24th. Reluctantly Athalia cleared her throat to bring Harry's attention back to the matter at hand when she was sure of her answer.

"As much as I hate to interrupt, the answer to your question Harry, is yes, it will sever the connection between the Horcrux and the wards, which should make things easier for you. So you'll opt for the binding removal before the ritual then?"

At Harry's quick nod, Athalia made a few quick notes on the form in front of her, before pressing her thumb in one of the boxes at the bottom of the form. Handing it over to Harry, Athalia quickly explained what to do.

"Just press your thumb to the second box on the bottom of the form, it will leave an imprint of your magic to act as your signature, signifying that you agree to everything we've discussed."

Nodding softly, Harry pressed his thumb into the square and pulled it back, looking at the paper, curious to see what the imprint would look like and smiled as he saw the form of his stag Patronus staring back at him, noting that the stag had a lightning bolt mark on its forehead to match where his scar was. Passing the paper back to Athalia, Harry looked up to his right to see his father smiling proudly at him.

"You three have a lot of catching up to do, you won't be able to get it all out of the way while you wait but you'll get to spend quite a while together while the form is processed and the ritual is prepared. Harry, you'll probably feel a little dizzy when the binding is removed, but nothing more."

Standing, Athalia nodded to Harry, James and Lily before turning around and walking toward the mist, disappearing into its depths. Harry watched as the desk vanished and two chairs appeared in its place. Giving his shoulders a soft squeeze each, James and Lily moved to sit in the two new chairs. It was a few seconds before Harry spoke.

"There's so much I want to talk to you both about, I don't know where to start."

James smiled softly as he shared a look with Lily, he had a feeling Harry wouldn't enjoy the conversation coming up but James didn't want Ron turning into another Pettigrew for Harry and with his attitude it would end up that way if Harry didn't deal with Ron.

"We know Harry, but there's something we need to talk about first, and you're probably not going to enjoy it. We know that you enjoy having him around Harry, but you need to cut Ron out of your life, he's dragging you down, look at how long it's taken you to take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. That's Ron's influence and you know it."

While James' voice never raised in volume it had a tone to it that demanded respect and attention, while simultaneously evoking respect with his words. Harry sighed heavily as he raised his right hand, resting the elbow against the arm of the chair, his hand pushed his glasses up so Harry could rub his eyes softly. Harry had wanted to put this off till he had returned but he knew that removing Ron from his life was almost a necessity for him to succeed in his endeavour, especially with the effect his mother's influence was having on Ron and by extension Harry and Hermione. Pulling his hand away and letting it drop to his lap softly, Harry looked over at his father with a smile. It was immensely gratifying to know how much his parents loved him, and that even in death they would keep watch over him and help him like this.

"I know dad, I just didn't want to think about it so soon, he was my first friend and the person who was there the first time I went through this, I don't even want to know how he convinced Molly to brew those potions for him but hopefully with me knowing about my bond with Hermione I'll be able to avoid that."

Lily smiled at Harry as he spoke, she had already told him she was proud of him but she could never express just how proud of him she was. He had never given up trying to save the wizarding world regardless of their treatment of him. Reaching out, Lily took James' hand, knowing that he was thinking the same thing about their son.

"We know it's not going to be easy for you Harry, but we know you're going to change the wizarding world, and neither of us can wait to see you pulling them into the 21 century, kicking and screaming."

Laughing at the image of him dragging Lucius Malfoy while he was kicking his feet and screaming like a child throwing a fit, Harry smiled at his parents.

"I can already tell, when I have to leave I'm going to miss talking to both of you."

Deciding Harry needed some cheering up, James decided to tell him about his Hogwarts years and all the pranks he and his friends played on the teachers and other students. Harry quickly lost track of time as he, James and Lily shared stories, James and Lily making sure to include some serious talks so they could impart some of the lessons they had learned through their own lives. Suddenly Harry stopped and pressed the heel of his right hand to his forehead, leaning forward as the room started spinning, knowing that the binding on his core had been removed and their time together was almost up. James and Lily looked to each other before turning back to Harry.

"It looks like our time is almost up Harry, there's a few more things we want to tell you. We know you want to save Sirius from dying and it is possible to do, but you need to be careful. You will find it easier to do now with the binding removed, but you need to think things through more often. Also, you know that we were close with Neville's parents so, we'd like you to get to know him as well, and try to convince Augusta to get him his own wand earlier please. That poor boy is suffering enough as it is without having to fight with his dad's wand to do the simplest spells."

Closing his eyes, Harry sighed, he'd forgotten about Neville's parents, opening his eyes, Harry looked to Lily before looking back at James, he needed to know.

"Mom, Dad, is there anything I can do for Neville's parents? I lost you two at pretty much the same time as he lost his parents but they're still alive. There has to be something we can do to help them. Even if you can just point me in the right direction."

Harry watched his parents eagerly; in more than a few of his lives Harry had been close to Neville, and Harry wanted to help him get his parents back. The seconds passed almost agonizingly slowly as he watched James and Lily staring at each other, silently communicating, before finally turning back to him.

"We'll have to talk with Athalia about this Harry, chances are you'll be unconscious for a while during the ritual so we'll see if we can't wrangle a starting point for you to work with. But you should prepare for the chance that she'll be unable to help. That doesn't mean, however, that an answer doesn't exist and that you shouldn't try looking for one if she can't help you.

"There's a couple more things we need to tell you Harry, you need to talk with the Goblins about our will. It has proof of Sirius' innocence, that Pettigrew was our secret keeper, as well as letting you know what else we left for you when you come of age. But you'll still need to catch Pettigrew once you get back to Hogwarts."

James turned to Lily and nodded for her to take over and she smiled before turning to Harry.

"You need to make sure you study harder Harry, the binding and ritual have increased your magical power but not your magical skills."

Lily shook her head softly at Harry's confused look and laughed softly.

"They're not the same Harry, magical power refers to your reserves, how many spells you can cast before tiring out as well as how much power you can put behind your spells. Magical skill however, refers to the number of spells you know, your ability to use modifying incanters and how you respond to each situation in regards to the spells you cast."

Harry crossed his arms again as he stared down at his knees, thinking about what his mother had just said for a few moments before looking back up at Lily.

"So after the ritual I may have more magical power than Riddle but he has more magical skill, which could tip the scales in his favour. I'll have to look for a way to even things out a bit then, maybe Dumbledore can help me."

"That's a good idea Harry but remember that although Dumbledore is powerful he is still only human and can make mistakes. Don't rely on him for everything, but don't ignore him either, and don't forget about your other teachers."

Harry's head shot up at Lily's mention of his other teachers, and instantly an internal conflict was sparked. Should he ask about Snape? Would his mother be angry for bringing him up now? In the end he decided to ask and risk upsetting both his parents.

"What about Snape? I know he was the one to tell Riddle about the prophecy but he couldn't have known that it would lead to you."

Watching his parents, Harry saw their serious expressions turn grim and sad in an instant. James sighed and shook his head softly.

"I want you to know that a good deal of how things turned out between us and Snape is my fault Harry, my first time meeting him I was an arrogant brat, which is why I couldn't get your mother to give me the time of day until I grew up a lot."

James stopped to give Lily a smirk as he glanced over at her, only for Lily to roll her eyes and cross her arms over her chest as she smiled at James.

"If I had been more like you things could have been different, but I wasn't and because of that I ended up driving your mother and Snape apart once she noticed I'd deflated my head a little. When you go back your mum and I want you to do us a favour. Tell him that you found a letter to him from the both of us, telling him your mother forgives him and that I wish things could have been different, and I'm sorry for Sirius almost getting him killed."

Nodding softly to his parents, Harry's stomach dropped as he saw Athalia walk back through the mist, smiling apologetically at all three of them.

"I wish I could give you three more time to catch up but we're ready for the ritual now Harry. Don't worry, your parents will be joining us."

Standing up Harry walked toward Athalia, James taking his place on Harry's right and Lily taking the spot to his left, both just slightly behind him, letting Harry know they would always be there supporting him while he walked his path, even though he wouldn't be able to see them. Athalia waved her hand and a small corridor, no more than six feet long, appeared through the mist, a solid steel door at the other end. Leading the way, Athalia stepped forward and upon reaching the door, opened it and walked into one of the ritual rooms that was kept on standby for cases like this. There was already a group of three white-robed people in the room, who were just finishing drawing a ritual circle on the ground. I the circle was a raised stone block, similar to an altar but bare of any adornments on its grey surface. As Harry walked in the room he looked around and found that the room was bare aside from the stone and circle. Frowning for a second Harry just shrugged before looking to his parents talking with Athalia, and moved to walk over to them to see what was required of him when one of the people gently placed a hand on his right shoulder.

"We will walk you through what you need to do young one. It will be quite simple for you as you simply need to lay on the stone, you will be put into a trance soon after. When you wake the ritual will be over and you will feel mostly as you did when you walked in. Are you ready young one?"

With a quick look back at his parents, Harry nodded grimly to the robed figure before walking over to the stone and sat down, making sure to lay exactly as he was told, not wanting to be the reason something messed up. Closing his eyes and drawing in a slow deep breath Harry released the breath and let the three, who were standing one at his head and one either side, that he was ready. Taking in slow steady breathes as he was instructed, Harry felt himself getting tired as he listened to the soft chanting and let his eyes close. As his eyes closed Harry felt his consciousness drift away.

James looked over to the stone and saw Harry unconscious on top of it and let out a soft sigh as he returned to the conversation with Lily and Athalia.

"Athalia, Harry just wants a point in the right direction, he doesn't want the answer handed to him, he knows that there's a lot to be gained in the search for the answer."

James and Lily watched as Athalia rubbed her eyes softly and sighed, knowing that she wanted to help as much as they did while also knowing that Athalia was bound by strict rules that left very little room for this kind of request. Placing his hand on Lily's arm when he saw her about to speak again, James gave her a look that said all too clearly to be patient and wait for an answer. James and Lily didn't have to wait too long as Athalia lowered her hand a minute later and looked at them both.

"I know that you can see how much I want to help but you know there's not a lot I can do beyond what I already have. Let me do a bit of digging and see what I can do, there may be a way for me to give him the information he needs to know and have it fall in the constraints of the contract we both signed. We'll have plenty of time to wait while Harry goes through the strengthening ritual."

Giving a sigh, James and Lily nodded to Athalia and watched her leave before turning around to watch the ritual work on Harry, hopeful for their friends and their son's happiness for the first time in more years than they could remember. Several hours later, Athalia returned to the room but held a single finger to her lips and pointed to the ritual taking place, making James and Lily nod as they had already been warned that speaking would disrupt the ritual in a very nasty manner. Athalia stood on Lily's right side, leaning against the wall and settling in to wait for the final stage of the ritual, her mind working furiously to decide the path she would take. The information Harry would need was very hard to get and she was sure that Harry would gladly go through the trouble to get the tomes required but she wasn't allowed to divulge the details to him. Athalia watched the glowing light around Harry start to turn from a deep blood red to a dull gold before starting to slowly fade as she chewed on her bottom lip. The ritual would be over in moments and she still didn't have her answer.

His eyes opening slowly, Harry groaned softly as he saw his parents smiling down at him, James on his left and Lily standing at the head of the stone, stroking his hair lovingly. Slowly sitting up, Harry let out a second small groan before smiling at his parents and leaning forward to hug them both.

"Everything went okay then?"

Before James or Lily had the chance to say anything Athalia walked up and Harry was startled to see how frustrated and annoyed she looked as she approached. His stomach sank and he braced himself, expecting bad news about the strengthening ritual - but before even he had a chance to ask, Athalia spoke.

"The ritual went perfectly Harry, actually it went better than perfect, your core growth was much higher than we expected. Your parents told me about your desire to help Alice and Frank Longbottom. There is a way to help them but the tome that contains the magic has been lost, not even we have a copy of the tome. The only ones that do, won't part with it willingly except under a few circumstances. There is information I can't reveal right now that you'll need, it involves your second bond mate so when I tell you who it is I can tell you what you need to know to get the tome."

Harry frowned, not liking being kept in the dark about his other bond mate as much as he disliked having to wait to help one of his friends. Nodding sadly Harry looked back up to Athalia to see she was smiling once more.

"You have too good a heart sometimes Harry, I know it's hard to not be able to help them yet but you'll understand when it's time. Come on now, it's time for you to get back to your Hermione."

Blushing and groaning as his parents and Athalia laughed, Harry stood and was surprised when Athalia took 3 small hand mirrors and handed one to each of the three Potters.

"These are a variation on your communication mirrors, the ones you made James. They're a gift from the creator, his way of apologizing for how much your lives had been meddled with; they will let you communicate with your parents Harry, both of them or only one if you want, just hold your wand to the centre and say either Mom, Dad or both. To end the connection just close the mirror, don't worry they won't work for anyone else and while they're in use, they emit a notice-me-not charm to keep anyone from asking any questions about you talking to a mirror. The only exceptions are your bond mates."

Athalia didn't get any further as all three Potters hugged her tightly. Laughing, Athalia hugged them back and smiled as she shook her head.

"Come on Harry, time to go."

Nodding, Harry followed Athalia out of the room into the corridor and stopped when she did in front of the door at the opposite end of the corridor. Turning around after opening the door Athalia gestured for Harry to walk through.

"You'll wake up at midnight on your birthday Harry, good luck."

Nodding and giving his parents one last hug each, Harry took a deep breath before walking through the door.

It was time to make things right.


	3. Chapter 3

Alright everyone, I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out but if you follow my other story you'll know that my beta reader is currently unavailable and I was, and still am, reluctant to post this unedited. Unfortunately I am going to have to, and will reupload an edited version should I find a new beta or should my old one become available again. Now, to address some of the reviews, thank you all for your feedback, but there's one thing I neglected to mention when starting this story. This story is massively AU, there will be some major events that will be the same as cannon, for example the Stone in Harry's first year. Pretty much everything else is different. I shuffled a few things around to give you all an example of what I mean in this chapter. Please feel free to review with questions you have or even message me if you wish and I will do my best to answer your questions. Thank you all for your support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

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Death is only the beginning

Chapter 3

The sound of his alarm clock was the next thing Harry heard after stepping through the door. Groaning, Harry reached over and turned his clock off and sat up in his bed. Taking a look around Harry smiled softly, it was just as he remembered, down to Hedwig in her cage and the birthday cards facing him from the bedside table next to him. Running his fingers through his ever untameable black hair Harry pulled himself out of the bed and pulled off his sleeping clothes, dressing quickly in the smallest clothes he could find, Harry opened the door to his room and slowly walked down the stairs. With the changes made, Harry was unsure what to expect from his aunt, uncle, and cousin but he figured it would be best to assume that things hadn't changed. It was a good idea because as soon as he entered the kitchen and sat at the table, a tiny plate with a few pieces of toast was put in front of him. Not expecting anything else, Harry simply gave his aunt the most grateful smile he could and said thank you. Snarling at him, Petunia said nothing before turning back to cooking dinner for the rest of the family. Picking up the first piece of toast and beginning to eat, Harry looked at both Dudley and Vernon. Both were exactly as he remembered as well, ignoring his presence to the best of their ability. As he ate, Harry did his best to figure out how to handle the situation that was coming. Harry knew that he didn't have to worry about Sirius being out to hurt or kill him but how should he handle the situation regarding the upcoming visit of "Aunt" Marge. Sighing internally, Harry knew that until he had a plan he'd just have to deal with the visit as before. Waiting until Vernon stood and announced he was leaving to go get Marge, Harry stood just as Vernon left and followed him quickly.

"Uncle Vernon, I need you to sign a form for me, it's something to do with school."

Knowing the response he would get, Harry grinned as he put a new plan into action.

"And why should I sign this ruddy form of yours boy?"

Concentrating for a moment, Harry pooled a small amount of power into his hand and sent a weak stinging hex at Vernon, hitting him in the leg, making him jump and yelp as he grabbed his leg, his beady eyes wide and already with a hint of victory in them.

"Before you start feeling victorious about getting me thrown out of school, let me inform you that the ministry can't track wandless magic. That spell was the weakest I could make it and only meant to distract at the most. Would you like to upgrade to something more harmful?"

Seeing the overwhelming fear taking place in his uncle's eyes, Harry knew he had scored his victory. Pulling the parchment from his pocket and handing it to Vernon, Harry watched with barely suppressed glee at how quickly Vernon signed the form.

"Thank you, Uncle Vernon. Now, I'll be spending most of my time either in my room or out of the house so you won't have to worry much about me, but while I am here, I expect to be treated better."

Without waiting for an answer, Harry turned, walked up the stairs and made his way to his room. Opening the door, Harry opened the floorboard under his bed and pulled his wand out and slid it into his waistband until he could get a holster for it. Waiting for the door to open then close again Harry walked back downstairs, knowing that Dudley wouldn't be finished for a while and his Aunt rarely left the kitchen unless it was necessary Harry used a wandless unlocking charm to open the cupboard door and shrunk his school trunk to the size of a match book before putting it into his pocket, making sure to grab his coin pouch first and tucking it into his pocket. Walking back out the cupboard door, Harry simply yelled to his Aunt that he was going out for a while and ignoring her screams about him doing the gardening walked out the door. As he reached the sidewalk Harry stuck his right hand out palm up and fingers extended, making sure to quickly pull his hand back as, with a bang worthy of coming from a cannon, the Knight Bus appeared and the conductor stepped out. Pulling the required 13 sickles from his coin pouch, Harry stepped onto the bus and did his best to hang on tightly, making sure he kept his scar hidden and his eyes down to keep from drawing the attention of the other riders. Luck was with him as Harry managed to not only stay in his seat but also remain unnoticed as he stepped off the bus in front of the Leaky Cauldron with three other passengers. Stepping inside and keeping his hand discreetly on his wand, Harry made his way through the bar, with a quick nod to the bartender, and made his way to the back wall so he could enter Diagon Alley.

Stepping through the archway, Harry smiled and sighed, he was where he belonged again, in the magical world. Harry quickly made his way to the bank, eager to get rid of the Horcrux in his scar. Making sure to keep his hand on his wand as he walked through the streets Harry kept his eyes on as many people as he could, his movements quick yet planned and precise to make sure he got through the crowds as quickly as possible and without getting into any trouble. Placing his foot on first step up to the entrance of the bank, Harry was glad to be at his first stop for the day. As he approached the guards standing outside the bank, Harry decided to make a good impression and these two would be a great place to start. Getting closer, Harry stopped and raised his right hand and closed his fist, holding it horizontally across his chest in a salute to the guards. Watching the reactions as the guards returned the salute, Harry had to exercise great amounts of control to keep himself from bursting into laughter at the identical expressions of surprise on both Goblins faces as he stepped inside. Walking up to an open teller, Harry once again saluted the Goblin, making every teller stop what they were doing as they watched what was happening. Grown wizards, even ones who claimed to be working to better relations between Humans and Goblins, didn't show as much respect to them as this young boy did. As soon as the salute was returned Harry spoke.

"Honourable Goblin, I would like to respectfully request the assistance of the Goblin Nation in an important matter."

Harry watched as the Goblin frowned and leaned forward, the black eyes boring into his own, and Harry knew if he was going to be taken seriously he needed to stand his ground. After several moments of silence, the Goblin gave a small nod, as though satisfied with the seriousness of the situation and leaned back in his chair.

"And what can we, of the Goblin Nation, help you with young wizard."

With immense effort, Harry kept his face neutral in response to the sneer in the Goblin's tone, before replying in a whisper, even leaning in closer to make sure he was heard.

"A dark object, an abomination to not only your people but mine as well, resides in this bank. I'm sure you agree that the details should not be spoken in such a public setting."

At Harry's words, the sneer instantly dropped from the Goblin's face and shock replaced it. Sending a quick message to inform the director of the bank of what had been said, the Goblin teller quickly summoned another Goblin to lead Harry to the Director.

"Follow this Goblin, but know that if you are wasting the Nations time, you will suffer dearly for it."

Nodding and giving the Goblin another quick salute, Harry turned and followed the Goblin who had walked up beside him. Harry walked in silence, his mind working as he walked, after he took care of the Horcrux not only in the Lestrange vault but hopefully, if the Goblins trusted him enough after exposing this Horcrux, the one in his scar as well, he would have to see what else could be done today, he had a feeling it would be quite a long day. Distracted as he was by his thoughts, Harry almost ran into the Goblin leading him and nervously swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat. As they were given permission to enter, Harry entered slowly and did his best to keep his eyes from wandering around the office, knowing that the Goblin would take his distraction as an insult after his insistence that the matter was so important. Stopping at the desk, Harry bowed with the Goblin who led him to the office but remained silent until the Director looked at him. As he met the Goblin's eyes, his guide leaving quickly, Harry gave another salute and nearly smiled at the surprise in the Goblin's face as it was returned.

"You show us respect young wizard, you have earned more respect in a few seconds than any other has in years. You may call me Ragnok, I am the director of this bank, now, tell me your name, then we shall get to the business of this dark artifact you spoke of with my teller."

"My name is Harry Potter, honourable Goblin. I apologize for not making an appointment to speak with you but as soon as I found out about this object I felt it best to deal with it immediately."

Harry watched as the Goblin leaned back in his chair and motioned for Harry to sit in one of the chairs in front of the desk. As he sat, Harry found it hard but still managed to keep eye contact, remembering that it was a sign of respect to Goblins to keep eye contact during a serious discussion, thankful for all the time he spent looking up different facts and talking with Griphook when he had the chance.

"As for the dark artifact in your bank, it currently resides in the Lestrange family vault. The cup of Helga Hufflepuff has been turned into a Horcrux, Ragnok."

At the mention of the world Horcrux, Ragnok's face split into a snarl of rage and he stood, slamming his fists down on the desk in front of him.

"You dare tell such lies! We would know if such an abomination was brought into our bank! You play with your life telling such lies!"

Taking great care to remain calm in the face of a raging Goblin, Harry waited until Ragnok stopped before speaking again.

"I promise you Director Ragnok, I am not lying, it was made by Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. It is in an oak chest, enchanted specifically to bypass the scans for dark magic. There also happens to be another sitting right in front of you Director."

The rage still remained on Ragnok's face, but curiosity also glinted in the Goblin's eyes that changed to understanding when Harry quickly tapped his scar. Watching Ragnok carefully as he sat again, and called out for another Goblin. They waited for 30 seconds at the most before another Goblin entered the office.

"Bloodknuckle, go to the Lestrange family vault and find an oak chest there. Bring it up to us and make sure you don't open it. Send for Whitemist as well, before you go to the vault, we will have need of her talents if what I have been told is correct."

Nodding quickly, the Goblin named Bloodknuckle ran from the room and quickly shut the door to the office. Ragnok sighed and scratched his forehead as he continued to stare at Harry.

"You are either very brave or very foolish Mr. Potter. You know that if it's found that you've lied to us you will be put to death correct?"

Nodding softly at Ragnok, Harry smiled at the Goblin.

"I do Director. I knew that it would be a risk and you would have been well within your rights to kill me before I explained for such an insult to your banks honour. But I know you have a reputation for being fair even when your honour is insulted."

Silence reigned in the office for a few minutes before Ragnok started laughing, the sound echoing throughout the office. Shaking his head softly Ragnok smiled at Harry.

"Never have I seen such audacity from one so young. I have a feeling you and I will be great friends young Potter. Once Healer Whitemist arrives, we'll see if you're being honest about yourself at least."

Harry smiled, and internally let out a sigh of relief, his gamble had paid off it seemed. A few moments of silence later a knock sounded from the door and after Ragnok gave permission for entry, another Goblin entered the room. Harry watched as the Goblin, wearing a blood red tunic and pants approached the desk.

"Well Ragnok, what have you done to yourself now?"

Doing his best not to grin at the Goblin's statement, Harry chose to remain silent and watch the exchange.

"Actually Whitemist, it is our guest here who I would like you to have a look at, specifically his scar. I need a dark magic scan and diagnosis if you would."

Harry saw the healer nod before turning to him, nodding to the Goblin and receiving one in return, Harry sat as still as he could while she moved to stand on his left side, placing her left hand on his forehead and her right behind his head as she began a soft chant in what he recognized as Gobbledegook. Harry did his best to keep from fidgeting or moving but it was difficult and Harry knew he was stuck here for a while now. It was 10 minutes later that another knock sounded and Bloodknuckle returned to place the small oak chest on Ragnok's desk, being quickly dismissed by Ragnok as the Goblin watched the scan take place while Bloodknuckle quickly left. It was another 5 minutes before Whitemist lowered her hands and looked to Ragnok with a grim look on her face.

"I suspect that you wanted confirmation of the Horcrux that lies within the scar on his head Ragnok? And that there's another in whatever is in that chest?"

Ragnok leaned back in his chair and motioned for Whitemist to check the chest as well. This time the scan only took a few minutes and Harry watched as Whitemist nodded to Ragnok. Ragnok growled before turning back to Harry, staring at him as though he were a complex puzzle to solve.

"You have done us a great service today Mr. Potter. In return we will cleanse the object in this chest and your scar. You have proven yourself a friend of the Goblin Nation today, just as your parents did. They would be quite proud of you I suspect."

He heard Whitemist gasp at Ragnok's words, understanding ringing through him, being named a friend of the Goblin Nation was no small feat. Harry stood and bowed to Ragnok again, straightening again Harry wished he could speak their language to show how much he was honoured by the statement.

"Thank you Director Ragnok, I will do my best to live up to that title. May I ask how long it will take for my scar to be purified?"

Harry sat back down and was surprised to see Ragnok smiling at him.

"I am glad to see you take more after your mother than your father Harry. Your response was almost identical to hers, your father on the other hand, insisted on making numerous jokes. He never could take anything seriously."

Harry smiled and nodded his thanks to Ragnok as he had to keep a tight grip on the tears threatening to fall from his eyes, his reaction to being told he was like his parents would likely never change no matter how many times he heard it.

"It shouldn't take longer than a few minutes but there will have to be some preparations made. I assume you have some other business for us as well?"

Harry responded with a nod as he thought about what he wanted to take care of first.

"I do Director, but I'm not quite sure where to start. I'm curious what my parents left me, and if they had a will."

A look of grim anger took hold of Ragnok's face as he nodded to Whitemist and she left to prepare for the cleansing rituals. As soon as she was gone, Ragnok tapped a rune just above the top drawer on his desk to seal the doors.

"Mr. Potter, am I to understand that you didn't hear your parent's will?"

At Harry's negative answer, Ragnok growled again as he picked up a pen and started to write, surprising Harry at the sight of a pen instead of a quill. Ragnok tapped the parchment and it disappeared. Setting the pen down, Ragnok looked at Harry.

"Your parents apparently foresaw this happening. Normally a will is delta with by your Ministry, but your parents were adamant about keeping a copy here in case the Ministry turned out to be less than trustworthy."

Sighing, Harry shook his head and rubbed his forehead softly. At least his parents were smart enough to know something would happen to their will.

"Is it possible to have my magical guardian present? I'm told it's Headmaster Dumbledore."

Standing up and moving to a fireplace in the right corner of the office, Harry watched Ragnok throw some floo powder in and speak a muffled sentence. A few moments later Dumbledore was stepping through and brushing his robes of the soot from his trip through floo. As he saw Harry, Dumbledore's face broke into a wide smile.

"Harry! Such a pleasure to see you again my boy. I hope you're doing well."

Standing up, Harry walked over to Dumbledore and shook his hand before laughing as Dumbledore pulled him into a hug. Walking back to the chairs that sat in front of the desk, Ragnok spoke before Harry could reply.

"I do apologize for not allowing you to catch up but this is rather important. Dumbledore your ward has yet to hear his parents will."

Harry watched as Dumbledore sighed and pushed his glasses up to rub his eyes softly.

"I know Ragnok, for the past 5 years I've been doing all I could to locate it but despite my efforts I have been blocked by Minister Fudge or my leads have turned up nothing at all. The will was ordered sealed to protect the Potter estates, at least that was the reason the Minister gave. I was unsuccessful at stopping that motion and as a result I suspect that the only copy of the will has been destroyed."

Even Harry was surprised at the anger on Dumbledore's face. As Dumbledore turned to face him, Harry also saw the sorrow in his eyes.

"I'm sorry to have failed you like this Harry, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to raise your hopes that it may be found when I'm sure Minister Fudge destroyed it. But with no proof I can't do anything."

Clearing his throat, Ragnok brought their attention to a scroll of parchment that now sat in his hands.

"I do believe that this will remedy your situation Dumbledore. The Potters didn't trust your Ministry even then it seems, as they made sure a legal copy was kept with us, though they apparently told no one to make sure it was kept safe."

Harry was staring at the scroll, doing his best to keep his eagerness under control. Ragnok smiled as he stood and handed the scroll to Dumbledore before sitting behind his desk again.

"Now, that's not all I have to speak with you about Dumbledore. Did you know that Harry's magic was bound until 2:37 AM today?"

The alarm that appeared on Dumbledore's face was astounding as he turned to look at Harry.

"That can't be Ragnok! That binding should've been dissolved when Harry reached 11!"

"Our healer believes that the Horcrux in his scar is the cause of the binding being present. We're not sure why it was broken but I think Harry's lucky he wasn't killed."

Watching Dumbledore's head whip to face Ragnok would have been comical if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Will Harry be alright? Has there been any permanent damage?"

"He will be fine Dumbledore, as soon as we can get it out if him that is. But there were some strange readings that you should be made aware of if you weren't already."

Dumbledore's eyes widened as he looked from Ragnok to Harry and then back to Ragnok. Harry was surprised to see fear, worry, and guilt in the aged Headmaster's eyes.

"Please Ragnok, tell me that I haven't made a mistake that put Harry in harms way?"

"I'll assume you were unaware of the malnutrition and slight scaring on Harry's back then. We think it was his relatives, the ones you left him with, but it makes no sense Dumbledore. We know you have 2 people that check on him, why were you not informed?"

Throughout Ragnok's speech, Dumbledore had placed his hands over his face as he leaned forward. The last sentence made Dumbledore sit straight up, his face covered by a mask of control that was stretched thin, ready to unleash the rage just beneath the surface as he spoke.

"I believe that I will be able to answer your question if I may be allowed to bring one of those people to your office Ragnok. We will need guards however, before I do."

With another tap of a rune on his desk, Ragnok had 3 guards in full plate armor and weapons brought into the room, before rendering them invisible.

"I assume that you mean to bring Mr. Snape here Dumbledore."

Harry's gaze snapped to Dumbledore as he processed Ragnok's words.

"You had Snape checking on me Headmaster? It's no wonder you were uninformed."

"Indeed, it seems that way. Before I bring Severus here, I believe I should explain my reasoning Harry. Severus claimed to love your mother and as a penance for his actions against her while they were at Hogwarts, he wished to keep watch over you for her while you were at your relatives. It seems as though my trust in him was grossly misplaced."

The mask of cold control was still only barely containing Dumbledore's anger as he walked over to the fireplace and summoned Snape to the office. Harry had to exercise the greatest amount of control yet as he watched Snape step into the office. Barely even registering the words being spoken as Snape was led to a third chair that had appeared. As soon as Snape sat down, one of the guards became visible and placed the edge of his sword against Snape's throat.

"What is going on here? This is your fault isn't it Potter!"

"I would suggest you worry about answering our questions instead of blaming Harry, Severus. You came to me and said you wished to make amends for your actions against Lily. Your efforts gained you my trust but now I hear that you have broken that trust Severus, you will have much to pay for should you be found guilty of these crimes. As will I, but we will deal with you first."

A look passing between Ragnok and Dumbledore was all that was needed for one of the other guards to become visible once again and walk forward uncorking a vial of clear potion that Harry recognized as Veritaserum from his previous lives. Harry watched as, resigned to his fate and unwilling to have his throat slit by the Goblin guard's sword, Snape allowed the potion to be administered. Seconds later, Snape's eyes became cloudy as the potion took effect.

"Now, to start, why did you approach me during the war."

"It was on the orders of the Dark Lord. I was to infiltrate your ranks and try to get close to the Potters so I could hand them over, aside from Lily, who was to be mine as a reward."

The anger in the room was at such levels it almost became tangible. With disgust evident on his face, Dumbledore continued his questioning.

"Where were you on the days I sent you to check on Harry?"

"I spent those days in Knockturn Alley, at an underground brothel that was a big hit with Death Eaters for their stock of Muggle children."

Already pale with rage, Dumbledore's face drained even further.

"How old were these children you spent that time with?"

"Anywhere between 9 and 11. After Lily died, I saw a child there that could have been her twin while I went to visit Lucius Malfoy. I took her that day, and I returned whenever I had the chance. The days where I was to check up on Potter were ideal as I could spend several hours there and I had no wish to have anything to do with the brat, having to teach him was bad enough."

Harry always knew how much Snape hated him, that he was a Death Eater and had many distasteful habits but to hear them spoken of so casually, Harry couldn't blame the Goblin for having a hand shaking as it held the sword to Snape's throat, eager to remove the stain from life. After another half hour of questioning Harry knew that Snape would never leave the bank again, alive or dead, and was slightly surprised to find himself enjoying the thought of Snape's torture at the hands of the Goblins. Scowling softly Harry stood and walked over to Snape, looking him in the eye, watched with curiosity by both Ragnok and Dumbledore.

"You don't deserve to know what I'm about Snape, but as I consider it my parents last wish, I'll honour it. My mother wanted you to know that she forgives you for what you said to her in your fifth year, and my father wanted to tell you that he was sorry for how he acted toward you for the entirety of your time at Hogwarts, including the incident with Sirius almost getting you killed. But now, having said that and after finding out how disgusting of an individual you are, I hope you rot in hell you bastard."

As Harry moved away, Ragnok approached him and started muttering softly in Gobbledegook, his hands outstretched and encompassed by a dark aura that matched the one that now covered Snape's body. It took a few more seconds before there was a flash and the aura flared briefly before dying and Ragnok spit in Snape's face. Harry saw Dumbledore's eyes widen and a small smirk of satisfaction on his lips. Harry softly tapped Dumbledore's arm to get his attention.

"Sir, what's going on? What just happened to Snape?"

"Ah, yes, my apologies Harry I forgot you wouldn't know. The Goblins have a great deal of leeway to enact their own justice in certain scenarios. Goblins have many things that are dear to them, children are one of them, as the Goblin females find it notoriously hard to become pregnant. Severus' actions not only in regards to you but to the children he abused in the brothel, means he will be suffering their most devious of punishments. I won't be surprised if I end up joining him for my failure to ensure your good health and safety Harry."

It was at this point that Dumbledore sighed and pushed his glasses up once more to rub at his eyes. Harry had never seen him look quite as old as he did know, the Headmaster had always given off an air of vigor and health despite his age. Placing a comforting hand on Dumbledore's shoulder, Harry remained silent until the Headmaster spoke again.

"I should have tried harder to make sure you were safe Harry, if I had known I would have taken you from that place instantly, regardless of the protections you have there. I cannot express how sorry I am Harry."

Harry nodded at Ragnok when he noticed the Goblin looking at them both. Snape was dragged out, a black handprint covering his face to ensure all those who saw him would know his crimes. He was curious where Snape would be taken but Harry had other things to worry about at the moment. Turning back to Dumbledore, Harry spoke at last.

"Headmaster, this isn't your fault. There are a few more things we need to discuss before you leave however. My treatment by my relatives and even their attitudes towards me are not their fault nor is it yours. The Horcrux inside my scar complicated things."

At the mention of the word Horcrux, Dumbledore's head flew up and he stared at Harry with wide eyes.

"My failure it seems, is even greater than I thought."


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, here we are, sorry about how long it took to get this out, but I hope you find the wait worth it. I don't have much to say about this chapter but I would like some feedback on how well I've written Fred and George. I haven't had a great deal of experience writing them so I hope I do justice to the awesomeness of the weasely twins.

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Death is only the beginning

Chapter 4

Harry smiled slightly as he lay looking up at the ceiling of his rented room in the Leaky Cauldron. Things were starting to get better and soon they would be even more so. He looked to his right Harry saw the sun beginning to shine through the small window and couldn't help the wide smile that showed up on his face. Today he was going to see Hermione again, and he didn't know how he was going to hold in his happiness in front of the Weasley family. Not that he had much to worry about aside from Ron, Ginny and perhaps Molly.

Looking through his memories Harry shook his head as he saw Ron's prejudice ruining any chance of a relationship with Hermione, and him by as well. Only the potions had kept Ron and Hermione together; potions Ron saw as keeping Harry from stealing his property. Pondering the problem of the youngest Weasley male, Harry grinned as he decided to enlist some help in keeping Ron occupied enough for Harry to have some time alone to speak with Hermione.

Harry rolled out of bed and dressed after having a shower. He made sure he looked presentable before leaving his room and turned to face the stairwell. He ran his hand through his still untameable hair and smiled at his luck. Fred and George walked up the stairs toward him, smiling their trademark troublemaker grins as they approached.

"Well, well, look what we have here George, our favourite Seeker."

"Indeed Fred, even though he hasn't had much competition for that title."

Deciding to cut the two off before they got too far into their routine Harry laughed and spoke.

"Alright you two, as much as it pains me to have to do this, I need to ask for your help."

It was a sign of how much regard and respect the twins had for him that they simply nodded and followed Harry back into his room. Harry closed the door behind them, turned, sighed, and decided to be blunt with them.

"Alright you two, this is a serious discussion so I'll ask you to keep the jokes to a minimum while we talk, as much as I know it's going to be tough for you both, but please try, hopefully it won't cause too much damage to your already warped minds."

Harry watched with a grin as his remarks left both twins shocked, and as they turned to look at each other Harry broke down into laughter, understanding the twin's surprise and shock. The twins turned to look back at him with their grins back in place.

"Good show, Harry, we knew you had it in you, despite the doom and gloom attitude you had before."

"Now, what is it you need from us mere mortals."

Shaking his head, but still smiling, Harry stood and rested against a bedpost as he considered how to handle the situation.

Knowing the twins they wouldn't have any trouble believing that Ron saw Hermione simply as property because of her muggleborn status; the events of the troll on the Halloween of their first year stood out vividly.

Ron had stood between Fred and George spouting off about how they shouldn't care about Hermione's feelings as they walked up to their common room after it was announced that the troll had entered the school. Harry remembered the anger he had felt before running off to help Hermione with Fred and George following behind him, dragging Ron with them. Harry sighed to himself as he remembered the seemingly sincere apology Ron had offered, but he knew now that they were hollow words. Bringing himself out of his memories Harry eyed the twins with their ever irrepressible grins.

"Alright, I need your help distracting Ron for me while I talk to Hermione. I'm sure you both remember my first year with the troll and his statements that night. Honestly, I think I should've listened when you told me he wasn't being sincere. I don't want him getting jealous if I ask to talk with Hermione alone."

Watching the twins throughout his explanation, Harry was a little surprised to see their grins getting even wider as he spoke. The twins were indeed pranksters first and foremost but, though they would deny it, Harry knew they could be serious when the situation required it. It puzzled Harry until they spoke.

"Good on ya Harry! We knew you could do it."

"Indeed, we're rather relieved that you decided to ask Hermione out instead of letting Ron have her. Your first year should be proof enough how horrible he would have treated her."

Harry laughed along with the twins, allowing himself to enjoy the moment and forget the trouble ahead. He allowed himself to be just a teen, laughing with his friends. As the laughter died down, Harry continued.

"I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that you both spotted what I was planning, you two are a lot smarter than you let people believe after all. Just please tell me you don't have a pool going on when I would ask her out."

The slightly guilty faces of the twins told Harry all he needed to know and he sighed as he rubbed at his eyes with the thumb and fore finger of his right hand.

"I shouldn't really be surprised by that either but I am. I hope you at least will win a good amount of gold for this. Anyway, I just need your to keep Ron busy while I talk to Hermione and chances are I'll need your help to run interference when we're at Hogwarts."

When the twins looked at each other then back to Harry, he knew he missed something and it only took a few seconds for him to figure it out, causing all 3 to speak as one and only a single word was spoken.

"Ginny."

Harry slapped his forehead with his palm and shook his head, groaning as he did.

"How could I forget about her, she's not going to be too much of a problem is she?"

After asking his question, Harry watched the twins carefully, seeing them have a conversation without words before both nodded and turned to Harry again.

"We should be able to handle our sister Harry. Hopefully she'll be able to let go, but knowing her she won't. Don't worry though Harry, aside from Ron and Ginny, the rest of the family will support you on this."

Choosing to keep quiet about their mother, Harry nodded and smiled gratefully at them.

"You guys are awesome. Is Hermione downstairs already?"

When both nodded, Harry took a deep breath to calm his suddenly high nerves and gulped a sudden lump that appeared in his throat.

"Alright, we should do this now then, better to get it over with now."

Nodding to him with a small grin, the twins reached their right hands, palms up to reveal a candy in each hand, one wrapped in bright green, the other in a deep blue. Harry took them carefully as he recognized them as the prank candies that the twins invented. Looking up from his hands to the twins, careful to keep a look of curiosity on his face.

"What are these and how will they help us?"

"These, Harry, are some unique candies that we've invented. We're planning on starting a joke shop when we're done at Hogwarts, so we decided we should get started making some new products. It took us quite a while but we've finally got them figured out. The one in green one is what we call a stuttering sweet, as soon as they put it in their mouth they'll start stuttering uncontrollably. The blue one is a chameleon caramel, it will make their skin turn different colours when they eat it. It'll serve as a test for our products and you can use these to distract Ron and Ginny."

Harry grinned down at the candies and laughed as he imagined Ron and Ginny under the effects of the candies. Slipping them into his pocket he shook both twins' hands, still grinning.

"Brilliant, listen if you guys need any help with this stuff, let me know, I'd be happy to provide a little financial support if it's needed."

He has a hard time keeping the laughter in at the looks on the twins' faces and made sure to cut off their protests before they even got started.

"Listen you two, I've had my fortunes change a little over the last little bit. My parent's will was found in Gringotts so I was able to get my inheritance earlier than 17. My parents wanted me to make my own decisions if they died so they made sure I would be emancipated. I have quite a bit more money now and I'm happy to put some of it to use to help the only family I have left."

Smiling at the twins, Harry slapped them both on the shoulder and waited for the shock to subside before leaving his room. He laughed to himself as he thought they were more shocked than he had been when he'd first heard his parent's will. He sobered quickly as the memory hit him, making him close his eyes as the memory enveloped him.

 _Harry sat with his head in his hands, having just heard the accounting of what now belonged to him. He shook his head softly, leaned back, and looked at Dumbledore and Ragnok, not knowing where he should even start. Taking a deep breath he looked to Ragnok._ [WADCW1]

 _"Congratulations Lord Potter. We of the Goblin Nation are looking forward to doing business with you in the future."_

 _"Indeed, it is good to see your parents' wishes finally enacted, Lord Potter."_

 _Shaking his head and sighing, Harry squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable with the sudden formality._

 _"Please, Ragnok, Dumbledore, could you just call me Harry, I don't think I'm quite ready to be referred to as Lord Potter just yet."_

 _Harry watched in shock as not only did Dumbledore laugh but Ragnok did as well. His confusion overrode his shock at seeing Ragnok laugh made Harry speak again._

 _"What's so funny?"_

 _Wiping a tear from his eye, Dumbledore shook his head softly._

 _"Forgive me Harry, but your reaction is almost exactly the same as your father's was. He was only a few years out of Hogwarts when he was forced to take the headship of House Potter. Your Grandfather had just died; he had been walking through Diagon Alley and the Death Eaters decided to attack that day. He was killed fighting to protect a group of children while their parents tried to get them to safety."_

 _Harry noticed Ragnok hanging his head as he touched the knuckle of his middle finger to his forehead at the mention of his grandfather. Ragnok smiled, noticing that Harry had seen the gesture._

 _"A sign of respect for your Grandfather, Harry. He was well liked and respected among the Goblins, a common theme where your family is concerned."_

 _Harry smiled and nodded to Ragnok, thanking him for the explanation. Turning to Dumbledore Harry nodded for him to continue with their previous conversation._

 _"Yes, well, if you'll agree to accompany me Harry, I believe a visit to Madam Bones would be beneficial to the both of us. She was a good friend of your mother's."_

 _Harry smiled but shook his head sadly._

 _"Unfortunately, it's going to have to wait Professor, I have an appointment with Whitemist to have the Horcrux removed."_

 _Dumbledore nodded just as another knock sounded and Whitemist walked into the room when Ragnok gave her permission to enter._

 _"The room is ready Ragnok, we can begin at any time."_

 _Harry took a deep breath and stood as Ragnok nodded to him before addressing Whitemist._

 _"Lord Potter is to go through the cleansing first Whitemist. Then we can worry about what's in the chest."_

 _Whitemist nodded and turned to walk out of the room, waiting for Harry at the door._

 _"If this doesn't take to long Professor, perhaps I can still take the trip to meet Madam Bones."_

 _"It should take about two hours to complete the ritual, Lord Potter. ,You shouldn't suffer from any fatigue, but this hasn't been done on a living being before, so there are no promises."_

 _Dumbledore nodded to Whitemist and smiled at Harry._

 _"Don't worry Harry, we'll make the arrangements later if you're feeling up to it after the cleansing. I'm sure Ragnok and I can find a way to pass time."_

 _Harry was almost worried for the current Minister as he saw the smile that passed between Ragnok and Dumbledore. Shrugging off any worry for the Minister, Harry followed Whitemist as she opened the tood and journeyed deeper into the bank's depths until she stopped at a door that she pushed open. Harry held back his gasp of surprise as he saw the room was set up exactly like it was during the rituals he had undergone before returning._

 _Harry was led to the raised stone block and laid on the top of it. He listened and nodded to Whitemist as she told him he would be rendered unconscious for the ritual due to the pain that they were expecting him to feel if he were to remain conscious._

 _When he woke, Harry sat up and the first thing he noticed was the lack of a weight he hadn't even realized he held. He felt more in tune with himself then he had before. He smiled as he could almost feel the magic flowing through him. Looking around the room, he got off the stone block and walked toward Whitemist, who was waiting for him at the door._

 _As he walked to her, Harry looked around for the other Goblins he'd seen when he entered the room. He frowned when he saw that they weren't in the room and that Whitemist had streaks of sweat covering her face and arms._

 _"Are you and the others okay Whitemist? Did you have more trouble than you thought?"_

 _Harry watched as Whitemist looked at him in surprise, wondering what surprised her, maybe he shouldn't be conscious yet?_

 _"We're fine Lord Potter, forgive me, we are not used to wizards showing concern for our wellbeing. The cleansing went as we predicted and you are now free from the soul shard. It has only taken an hour instead of two. Director Ragnok and Headmaster Dumbledore are awaiting you in the Director's office. Come, I will take you there."_

 _Harry nodded and followed Whitemist out of the room, doing his best to keep his excitement down._

 _He was free from the Horcrux! Harry knew he would be much stronger for it, but he was eager to test out his new abilities. When they arrived at the office, Harry thanked Whitemist again before entering when he heard Ragnok grant permission; it was time to start his efforts to fix the wizarding world._

Pulling himself from his memories, Harry pushed himself away from the bedpost and slapped both twins on the shoulder before pushing them out of his room.

"Snap out of it you two, it's time for me to pull my first prank[WADCW2] [WADCW3] ."

Harry grinned as he saw the twins donning their signature "evil grins" and turned to walk down the stairs. He felt his stomach twist with nerves when he heard Hermione's voice, and hoped that he wouldn't make a mistake.

He shook his head softly and smiled as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He saw Hermione sitting with Ron; Ginny was nearby thankfully, but Harry barely noticed her. His eyes locked on Hermione and he knew, no matter what, she was his future; she would always be by his side. Taking a deep breath, Harry walked over to them and, grinning, snuck up on Ron, knowing Hermione hadn't seen him either, listening to their conversation.

"I hope Harry hurries up, we've got some catching up to do, but he always did like to sleep late."

"You're one to talk Ron, you complain if you can't sleep till after noon."

Harry and the twins laughed as Ron jumped and fell backwards on the bench while Hermione yelped in surprise and placed her left hand over her heart, glaring at Harry half-heartedly.

"Harry! Was that really necessary, I think the twins are starting to corrupt you."

At Harry's responding grin, the twins ruffled his hair, looking at him proudly.

"It's been a long journey..."

"But we've finally corrupted the Golden boy of Gryffindor..."

"We're so proud of him."

Everyone but Harry and the twins groaned at the thought of Harry emulating the twins. They had no idea what they were in for. Harry smiled at Ginny, who was sitting next to Ron, who had just managed to pull himself back into a sitting position on the bench.

"Hey Ginny, how are you doing?"

Harry sighed internally as he watched her turning red, but was surprised when she was actually able to respond with actual words instead of noises.

"I'm good Harry, it's good to see you again."

Giving her a sincere smile, Harry pulled the candies out of his pocket and put the blue wrapped candy into his right hand and held his hands out to Ron and Ginny.

"Here, I saw these and thought you two would enjoy them, so I grabbed one for each of you."

Ginny simply blushed deeper, something Harry didn't think was possible, and took the candy from him. Ron slapped him on the back and thanked him. Harry grinned to the twins who were still standing near the stairs, watching the group intently as Harry sat next to Hermione. He gave her hand a squeeze to get her attention as the two youngest Weasleys ate the candies.

"Hermione, do you mind if we talk for a moment?"

Hermione didn't get a chance to respond as Ron shouted and started stuttering uncontrollably, trying to tell Ginny her skin was currently changing from a bright lime green to a deep purple. The twins broke down laughing, Harry joining them not long after.

Hermione just sat there, her mouth hanging open as Molly came running over, yelling at the twins even as they laughed. Ginny finally noticed her skin was an almost florescent pink and shrieked before running up the stairs with Ron following not long after, not able to string two words together with how bad his stuttering was. When Harry was finally able to breathe properly, he looked over at Hermione to see her frowning at him, her arms crossed over her stomach.

"Harry, you didn't have anything to do with that did you?"

To his credit, Harry tried to look scandalized at her remark but noticed it wasn't working so he decided on the truth.

"Okay I did, but I have a good reason! I promise! Just come with me okay? I need to talk to you alone."

Harry could see her trust and curiosity at what was so important warring with her need to lecture him about what he'd just done. Sighing, Hermione nodded and stood up, following Harry up to one of the private parlours the Leaky Cauldron had. Once inside, Harry closed the door and took another deep breath before turning to look at Hermione.

"Alright Harry, what's going on. This isn't like you at all, and you've got me worried."

Harry smiled softly and joined her in front of the fireplace, turning his chair so it was facing the chair Hermione was sitting in before joining her.

"I'm sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to worry you but this is important and I don't want Ron or anyone else around to interrupt our conversation."

Leaning forward, Harry took Hermione's hands into his, making her gasp softly. She knew how Harry felt when it came to any kind of physical contact, so it surprised her to see him initiating something he was usually uncomfortable with. Harry gave her hands a gentle and reassuring squeeze as he looked into her eyes.

"Things have changed for me Hermione. I promise I'll get into the details later, but for now there's something specific I want to talk to you about. I've learned a lot about my family since we've last seen each other and I realized something. My parent's died far too young but they still knew love; having each other and me, and their families of course. But I haven't and I realized that even though I'm young, there's someone that, after thinking about it, I find myself drawn too."

Harry grew worried as he saw fear flash in Hermione's eyes, followed by acceptance. Harry had the idea that she was afraid he was going to ask her for help in asking another girl out, so he decided to make it a little more clear for her before she had a chance to speak. He continued.

"She's absolutely amazing, and I know I can always count on her, she's always supported me, despite all my stupid ideas and crazy plans, she's followed me. She's trusted me, and I can't thank her enough for that. Just in case you haven't realized it Hermione, I'm talking about you. I was hoping you'd be willing to join me in Hogsmeade on..."

The rest of Harry's sentence was cut off as Hermione threw herself at him, pulling him into a tight hug. She surprised them both by kissing his cheek; making him smile and her blush as they broke apart.

Harry's smile widened when he saw Hermione looking down at her shoes. He gently placed his hand under her chin to encourage her to look at him again. When her eyes met his, Harry felt himself moving forward; his body moving without conscious action on his part. When Harry was close enough he pressed a soft kiss against Hermione's lips and was surprised when she pulled herself into his lap, sliding his arms around the back of his neck, his hands placed at the middle of her back as they both felt their magic swelling inside them through their kiss, running through their own bodies as well as each other's. Harry gasped as they were both finally able to pull away, knowing his eyes were as wide as Hermione's, as Hermione found her voice first.

"What was that?"

"That I believe was a soul bond forming between the two of you."

Harry and Hermione turned to see Fred and George standing in the doorway, smiling sincerely for once as they closed the door and walked in, pulling two more chairs up to the fireplace so they could join Harry and Hermione, who moved back to her own chair after moving it so they could hold hands more comfortably. Once they were sat comfortably, all four chairs forming a circle, Fred spoke first.

"Don't worry Harry, Hermione, we're happy for the both of you and no one else will have noticed. We only noticed because we were walking by the door after mom got done trying to make us deaf for corrupting pure, honest, Harry and saw a white glow coming from it. We saw the two of you come in here before so we had a pretty good idea who it was."

Harry smiled over to Hermione, squeezing her hand again, before turning to the twins. He hadn't gotten any information on the bonding so he was just as curious as Hermione was bound to be. Running his thumb over the back of Hermione's hand, Harry looked to the twins and leaned back in his chair.

"I get the feeling that this isn't going to be a short discussion so, why don't we get started, what can you tell us about what just happened?"

Seeing Hermione looking at him like he'd just lost his mind, Harry smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't worry Hermione, we can trust them, you don't seriously think that they're as lackluster in their intelligence as it seems because of their marks, do you? Some of the pranks they pull require a great amount of thought, planning, and some complex spells."

"That's true I suppose it's just I have a hard time trusting them when they're always acting so silly, they never seem to take anything seriously."

Before Harry could respond, George cut him off and proved that they could take things seriously.

"We can see how you feel that way, but even we know that there's times to be serious. We do take things seriously just not often, it takes an important situation, like this one for us to be serious so how about we answer your questions hmm?"

Harry smiled and brought Hermione's hand up to press a kiss to the back of her hand to calm her embarrassment so they could continue. When Hermione nodded to him, Harry in turn nodded to the twins.

"Alright, first and foremost we need to tell you that your bond is not complete. When a fully formed and complete bond forms it is signified by a golden glow, yours was white. There's a couple reasons why this could be but the most likely is that you have a triad bond. It's not as common as a normal soul bond but it's not rare either and there's no rush or anything you need to worry about when it comes to your third. There have been cases where it's been 10 years for the triad to find their third."

Harry didn't need to fake the surprise on his face at hearing that he didn't need to find the third person to their bond right away. Having thought about it before he was worried that they may be in trouble if they couldn't find the third person. Knowing that he could take his time was a relief.

"Now, I'm sure you're wondering what this bond means. It's mostly just a symbolic gesture by your magic, letting you know that you've found your other half. You're not married, engaged or anything else like that and there's not a lot more to it. You'll find yourselves more in tune with each other than before and your magical power will have increased, you may even be able to share magical skills if your bond is powerful enough, and considering what powerhouses you both are on your own I think it's a certainty."

Harry and Hermione shared a look and smiled at each other before turning back to the twins.

"So you mean we could study different subjects then share the knowledge with each other through our bond?"

The twins just nodded before standing up and walking to the door and left the room. Harry and Hermione looked at each other again, still smiling and spoke as one.

"This is going to be fun."


	5. Chapter 5

Well, here we are again, another chapter in the books for you all. I hope you all enjoy this one as much as the last ones.

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Death is only the beginning

Chapter 5

After a long day answering Hermione's questions, an endless amount of them to be sure, Harry could not help the contentment that welled up inside him. However, something was missing. With the knowledge from Athalia and the twins, Harry was confident that it was just because they had not found the third member of their bond. Hermione had told him she had a similar feeling when he had brought it up earlier.

Harry glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror once more before stepping back into the main room. He smiled; the sight of Hermione engrossed in a book was one he would never tire of. He made his way towards the bed, grinning as he though of the reaction Mrs. Weasley would have if she knew Hermione was not in her own room right now. He pushed the thoughts of the Weasley matriarch away, the conflict that had plagued him all day reasserted itself; its complexity immense despite its seemingly simple description.

How much should he tell Hermione?

This question had been in the back of his mind all day, during his time with her and even during a few other times when he had to leave her. Forcing his struggle aside, he was glad any memories he wished to share had to be chosen before being sent through the bond. Even then, they had found themselves unable to do so. Of course, Hermione had theories to explain why they could not share memories and thoughts yet.

Harry slipped under the covers with a sigh and smiled as he felt Hermione press herself into his left side. She rested her head on his shoulder after placing her book on the bedside table. The dark haired wizard began running his fingers through her hair slowly, smiling down at her, as he marveled at his luck. Feeling his gaze lingering on her, Hermione looked up at Harry.

"Is something wrong Harry? I didn't think you would be awake for long after getting into bed. Not after how long a day we just had."

"I'm fine Hermione. I just can't believe how lucky I am to have you in my life; let alone having you as a bond-mate."

Harry laughed as he watched the blush bloom on her face. He held her close as she pressed her face into his chest, hiding her blush. With a deep sigh, Harry stroked Hermione's back with his thumb as he relaxed in the bed. He knew he could only be happier when the final mate in their bond appeared. Until then, he would have to consider further on how much - and how - he would tell her.

Harry woke up with a groan before pulling himself up out of the bed and walking to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. He had not realized how much he was looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. Realizing he was about to return had the excitement race through him; knowing he would be changing his life for the better was a bonus as well.

After walking back into his room, Harry pulled his trunk open to make sure he had everything packed. That was when he noticed the communication mirror for his parents tucked into a pocket in the lid. He ran his fingers over it, realizing he had not used it since his return. Harry quickly looked checked the clock and, seeing he had another hour before they had to leave, opened the mirror.

"Mom, Dad."

Harry smiled as he saw his parents faces appear a second later, his mom on the right and his dad on the left, looking exactly as they had when he spoken with them in the after-life.

"Well, look who decided to finally use the gift he was given. You'd think he didn't mean it when he said he missed us with how long it's been."

James did not get any further as Lily had elbowed him in the side, giving him an exasperated sigh and shake of the head before turning to look at Harry.

"It's good to see you again dear, never mind your father. Everything is a joke to him as I'm sure you've noticed."

"It's okay Mom, I meant to use these earlier but, well, things got busy. I don't even have a lot of time right now, but I need some advice."

Harry stopped at his parent's knowing smiles and simply favoured them with a look of confusion. They both laughed softly before Lily answered.

"It's about Hermione isn't it?"

Harry was shocked, he couldn't answer verbally, so he simply nodded. How had they known he was going to ask about Hermione?

"Harry, you're too much like your father sometimes. It's written all over your face when you think about her. Just like it was with him when he thought about me. What do you need to ask us, dear?"

Harry shook his head, decided to worry about that little tidbit of information later, and focus on asking his parents for the advice he intended. He filled his parents in on what he was thinking of telling his book-loving witch and how, hoping that he would not scare Hermione too badly. Harry had planned to tell Hermione everything he could on the Express, but he could tell by Lily's wince that she thought it was a very bad idea to dump it all on her at once.

"Well Harry, I can see why you're unsure. That's not a great idea son. She does need to know, but small bites okay Harry? She'll overload on information if you dump it all on her at once. Just tell her what you can about the contract that brought you back and what you're here to do. Telling her about Sirius being innocent would be a good idea as well."

Blushing softly at his mistake Harry nodded before checking the time again. Twenty minutes had passed already. With a reluctant sigh, Harry turned back to the mirror.

"Thanks Mom, I appreciate the advice. I'll probably be calling a lot more often when I get back to Hogwarts. I have to go now though; I don't have a lot of time until we have to leave."

"It's okay son, we understand. Go on. We love you Harry."

Harry watched the image of his parents disappear before he closed the mirror and softly slid it back into place in his trunk. Running a finger over the mirror in its pocket once more, Harry turned back to his original task, fighting to keep the tears from falling as he smiled. He would make them proud of him, he promised himself once more. Closing the trunk as he finished, Harry tapped his trunk and Hedwig's cage with his wand to shrink them before picking them up.

Harry grinned as he thought of his owl. He had sent her to Hogwarts the day before and she was not happy with it, although it would be better so he would not have to worry about her on the train. He would have to visit her tomorrow after he had settled in again. He grimaced softly as a flash of memory hit him of his ever-faithful friend falling from the skies as she died in several of his other attempts. That would change as well, but first he had other things to deal with.

Slipping his trunk and Hedwig's cage into his pocket, his grin returned as he walked down the stairs to the controlled chaos otherwise known as the Weasley Family. His eyes wandered over the family of redheads and favoured them with an affectionate smile. Fred and George were as they always were, planning pranks or playing them. Harry could not decide which stage they were at but with their frequent looks at their seemingly favourite target, their older brother Percy, they were still in the planning stages.

Arthur was sitting at the table next to Hermione, reading the morning copy of the Daily Prophet and talking to Percy. While he was not sure what the topic of conversation was, it was probably something about Percy getting into the Ministry; which Harry knew was only the first step of the rather pompous Weasley. Harry's smile faded as he saw Molly and Ginny talking a little further down the table. He was still unsure what their reactions would be to his relationship with Hermione, but thankfully not too worried about it with the partially completed bonding.

Ron was nowhere in sight, so he must be either still sleeping or hurriedly packing while getting dressed at the same time. Sure enough, a few seconds later Harry heard the thumping of the youngest Weasley male pulling his trunk down the stairs. Turning around to look at him, Harry smiled at the bloodshot eyes and messy hair of the one he would have normally called his Best Friend, even while knowing he would have to play the part for a while longer. Harry slapped Ron on the back and followed him down, making sure he could sit next to Hermione and gripped her hand under the table when Ron sat down on his other side.

"Harry dear, where's your trunk? Is it still upstairs?"

Grinning softly to Hermione, who rolled her eyes at his wink, he turned to Molly and answering.

"Actually , I just shrunk it while I was upstairs. It's in my pocket."

Harry's smile widened as he watched Molly's look of utter surprise to his response before he turned to Hermione to talk to her about their upcoming classes. Harry had surprisingly talked Hermione out of taking Divination and Muggle Studies. He had thought it would be harder but after a quick look through the required book for both subjects, Hermione was easily persuaded that Divination would do her no good and Muggle Studies looked like it had not been updated in at least 30 years and would be even less useful. The explosion Harry was waiting for happened as they discussed Arithmacy.

"Harry Potter! Are you trying to get yourself expelled! You know you're not supposed to do magic outside Hogwarts!"

It looked like Molly was going to continue, but the look Harry gave her made her freeze. Even the twins winced when they saw the look on his face.

"How dare you speak to me like that? I am not one of your sons, no matter how much you wish I was and you have no right to try to run my life!"

Harry knew he had opened a few eyes when Arthur stood up and faced his wife.

"Harry's right Molly. He's able to use magic here and you know it. He actually has the right idea. We should have thought of this before. It would've cut down some issues we've had."

Without waiting for her answer, Arthur turned and drew his wand. He began shrinking his children's' trunks so they could pick them up and put them in their pockets. With a nod, Arthur then turned to Harry with a smile on his face.

"Thank you for that idea Harry, and I'm sorry for how Molly spoke to you. It wasn't right."

Harry simply waved the apology away and smiled at Arthur.

"It's no problem Mr Weasley. I'm glad I could help."

Harry smiled and turned back to Hermione to continue their discussion, completely ignoring Molly in the process.

A few moments later Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys were gathered at the door, Arthur at his left and Hermione at his right as they waited for the ministry cars to pull up. Grinning to himself, Harry slipped into the car with Hermione next to him and took her hand, squeezing it softly when he saw that neither Ron, Ginny nor Molly was in the car with them.

The drive was short for them in the ministry cars but for Harry it seemed almost instantaneous as he passed the time talking to Hermione. When they pulled up to King's Cross, Harry reluctantly let go of Hermione's hand as they got out and waited for the rest of the family to join them. Harry had to fight back a sigh as Arthur was almost glued to his side as they walked into the station and through the barrier. When they were through the barrier Harry sighed happily, the sight of the scarlet train more relaxing and causing more happiness than he thought it would. He was going back to the one place he considered a real home, and he could not wait.

As he made to walk away, Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Arthur gesturing to a secluded area of the station. Realization hit him and Harry nodded as he followed Arthur, leaning up against the wall and looking at Arthur as he waited for the older wizard to collect his thoughts.

"Harry, there's something you need to know. You've heard of course of Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban."

Harry nodded softly, remembering the conversation he had with Arthur the night before.

"Well, there's something you need to know about him, something that others feel you shouldn't know. I think you can handle this. After you rescued Ginny last year, you proved that you're mature enough to hear this, in my opinion. Harry, Black escaped to kill you."

Harry held up his hand, Arthur stopping in confusion and staring at Harry.

"Mr Weasley, you've got it wrong. Sirius is actually physically incapable of causing me harm. He's my godfather, you know what that means in the magical world. The ritual that is required makes him incapable of harming me. I appreciate your concern, it means a lot to me, but Sirius isn't going to hurt me."

Harry watched Arthur closely as realization hit him and he nodded but he could tell something else was bothering him and it was not long before he found out.

"That's all well and good Harry but, him going to Azkaban would render that ritual null and void, magic would see him as incapable of being your godfather."

Harry stopped Arthur once again, smiling at how much Arthur cared about his safety.

"You're right, for the most part anyway. That would only happen if he was convicted of a serious crime. The Headmaster and I looked into a few things this summer and found some interesting information. Sirius never had a trial, he wasn't even taken to the Ministry holding cells, he was taken straight to Azkaban."

Harry watched as Arthur's eyes widened with the implications of what he was saying. The conversation ended when they both jumped from the Express' whistle blowing, signalling it was time for him to go. Harry nodded to Arthur, leaving him there thinking furiously about the new information, as he hurried to the train and jumping on it.

Harry groaned as he turned to his left and spotted the one person he really did not want to see, Draco Malfoy. Gritting his teeth, Harry tried to walk passed him but found his way blocked by Crabbe, making him step back and watch as Malfoy grinned at him.

"Well, well, look what we have here boys; little Potty all on his own. I think it's time for a little payback, don't you agree Crabbe, Goyle?"

Unable to help himself, Harry broke out laughing as the three Slytherins stood there watching him, their anger growing.

"What's so funny Potter?"

With a great sigh, Harry forced himself to stop laughing and looked at Malfoy.

"Oh, nothing Malfoy, it just strikes me how similar you and your father are, he would never fight someone unless he outnumbered them either, and more often than not, his targets were non-magicals. But what really made me laugh is that you think you three squibs stand a chance against me."

With a cry of anger, all three Slytherins drew their wands and aimed them at Harry. Unfortunately for them, Harry's confidence was well founded as he had his own wand drawn and up before any of them had theirs drawn. His wand was a blur as he sent all three boys flying against the wall. Hearing the crunching of bones breaking, having added in a few bone breaking curses in addition to the banishing hexes, Harry grinned when he saw that at least two wands were broken.

He stepped over the unconscious lump that was Crabbe and approached a whimpering Draco. He shoved his wand into the boy's neck - hard.

"Consider yourself warned Malfoy. Next time, I won't be so nice."

Harry watched as Malfoy whimpered but looked up at him, his eyes burning with hatred. Looking back at the boy with nothing but contempt, Harry made sure to step on Draco's broken arm as he walked past them, intent on finding his friends. Harry sighed as he spotted Hermione sitting in the compartment next to the sleeping form of Remus Lupin. Harry had to tighten his grip on his emotions as he saw Remus again, tears of relief threatening to fall from his eyes as he remembered seeing the old wolf dead.

Clearing his throat, Harry pulled the door to the compartment open and stepped inside, smiling at Hermione.

"Hey, Hermione. Where's Ron?"

Hermione smiled and stood, pulling him into a hug and quickly kissing his lips soft before answering.

"The twins pulled him off somewhere, and made sure Ginny was with them as well. Why, is something wrong?"

Harry sighed, looked over at Remus and nodded before turning around and locking the door.

"No, but I have some things to tell you, some of it isn't going to be easy to hear though. So I want you to promise you'll at least try to let me finish without you… well, being you and asking a billion questions."

Hermione huffed and playfully slapped him on the arm at his comment but still nodded and moved so she had her back resting against the window. Harry smiled and sat down opposite her, his back resting against the compartment wall as he put up a basic silencing charm around them and began his story. It turned out he had not needed to ask her to contain herself, Hermione was too shocked with his story to interrupt him until he was finished, and when she did, her response was almost exactly what he expected.

"Harry, that's not funny, you shouldn't joke about things like this. It's not possible for anything you've just told me to be true."

Having expected this, Harry pulled his trunk from his pocket and enlarged it on the floor of the compartment so he could pull out the communication mirror before he reshrunk the trunk and put it back in his pocket.

"I can prove that what I just told you is true, Hermione."

Harry smiled softly at her sceptical look and held out his arms to her, she smiled and slid over so her back pressed against his front and Harry's arms wrapped around her, the mirror open in front of them as he spoke.

"This is the mirror I told you about, ready to meet my parents?"

He laughed as Hermione scoffed at his statement but when his parents faces lit up the mirror's surface a few seconds later, she froze and Harry felt her jaw drop as Lily spoke to them.

"Well don't you two look just so cute! You must be Hermione, I'm Lily, this is James. We've been wanting to meet you for quite some time now."

When Hermione did not answer, Harry laughed softly and smiled at his parents.

"I'm sure you'll be surprised when I say she didn't believe me mom. Give her a second to absorb this and she'll be alright."

Harry laughed with his parents as Hermione turned in his arms to glare at him and slap his shoulder before turning back to the mirror.

"I'm sorry it's just, I didn't really believe him when he told me about him dying and the contract and everything. It's nice to meet you both."

Harry grinned as he watched his mother poked his father in the chest.

"Don't you dare James Potter, and don't bother with the innocent routine I saw that look. You will not be teasing our son or his girlfriend right now, understood?"

"Yes, dear, I promise I won't tease them."

James' response had Harry and Hermione laughing, the look of attempted innocence on James' face was comical when you considered his reputation. Their laughter stopped as Remus shifted in his sleep and when they looked back to the mirror, Lily and James were looking at them curiously.

"Something wrong you two?"

Harry smiled and shook his head.

"No, Mooney is in the compartment with us sleeping and we thought he might have been waking up, but it looks like my silencing charm is still up. I didn't think it would hold for this long."

At the mention of Remus, Lily and James smiles turned to frowns as Hermione turned and looked at Harry.

"Who's Mooney, Harry?"

It was James who answered instead of Harry and made Hermione jump.

"It's the nickname for the man sleeping in the compartment Hermione, his real name is Remus Lupin. He was a friend of ours when we were alive."

Hermione put a hand over her mouth and nodded as she looked at the sad faces of Harry's parents. Harry had a hard time looking as well and when it started to rain. Harry remembered that the Dementors had yet to make an appearance.

"I hate to cut this short Mom, Dad, but the Dementors should be showing up soon."

Lily and James nodded and said their farewells before Harry closed the mirror and sat up. Hermione slid back over to the other side of the bench and looked over at Harry.

"You have more to tell me don't you?"

"Yes I do, but it'll have to wait. When the Dementors come we'll be getting company, so I'll tell you tomorrow."

Just as Hermione nodded, the train shook and Harry groaned as the lights went out. Harry quickly unlocked the door and sat back, trying to prepare himself for the meeting with the Dementors when the door slid open and he heard Neville's voice.

"Hello? Who's there?"

"It's us Nev, Harry and Hermione, come on in and join us. Any idea what's going on?"

Before Neville had the chance to answer, there was a crackling sound as a small fire lit up the corner of the compartment. Harry turned and stared at Remus, swallowing hard as he looked into the face of his parent's friend, looking just as tired and worn as he had the last time he had seen Remus.

"Quiet, stay here, I'll go and see what is happening."

Harry nodded and watched, gripping the cushion of the bench tightly as he watched Remus stand. Before Remus could take a single step however, the door opened and revealed one of Harry's worst nightmares as he could already hear his mother screaming in his mind. Harry looked up into the Dementors face and then felt himself collapse into his nightmares, reliving the night of his parents murder, the screams of his mother even more disturbing for him now than they ever were, the brief encounter between his mother and Voldemort lighting a fire of rage in his chest and stomach when he heard them again. With a groan, Harry felt himself return to consciousness and immediately noticed Hermione holding him tightly, making him smile as he pulled her closer. Hermione giggled against his neck but sat up after a few seconds, stroking his cheek with her thumb, still looking frightened but happy as well. Harry sat up and slipped back onto the seat as a loud snap made them all jump and turn to the corner of the compartment where Remus sat smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Here, this will help."

Harry smiled and took the chocolate Remus had been breaking and took a bite.

"Thank you Professor. What was that thing?"

Harry watched as Remus sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, looking even more tired than he had before the Dementor walked in.

"That was a Dementor, Harry, one of the guards of Azkaban. It was searching for Sirius Black."

Harry nodded and looked around, noticing with a frown, Neville had left. Turning to Hermione, Harry did not even get to ask before she answered him.

"Don't worry Harry, Neville just went to the bathroom, his face was drenched from the sweat."

Nodding, Harry turned to Remus and grinned, he should have some time for a quick prank on his teacher before Neville got back.

"How have you been Mooney?"

When Remus' head shot up and looked over Harry, his eyes wide and a look of utter shock on his face, Harry almost fell out of his seat from laughter as Hermione sat glaring at Harry in disapproval.

"Where did you hear that name Harry?"

Grinning at Remus, Harry got his laughter under control.

"My parents of course, they left me a few letters and things for me in case they died. You were mentioned in quite a few of them."

Harry almost broke down at the look of inexplicable loss on Remus' face at hearing about his parents. Unable to help himself, Harry stood and pulled his honorary uncle into a hug, surprising not only Hermione, but Remus as well. It took a few seconds before Remus could return the hug and Harry smiled, he would be helping Remus as much as he could, he promised not just himself, but his parents as well. Pulling away Harry sat down and smiled at Remus.

"Remus, there's something else you should know. It's about Sirius."

Harry heard Hermione's intake of breath and a quick look passed between her and Remus.

"What is it Harry?"

"He's not guilty Mooney, he didn't betray my parents."

The response was just about what Harry had been expecting, Hermione gasped but remained silent, likely due to shock and Remus was even more taken aback, a look of stunned disbelief mixed with disgust on his face. Harry quickly launched into the evidence he had and at the end of his story, Remus and Hermione were sitting quietly contemplating what was said. What happened next was something not even Harry could have predicted.

Ron walked into the compartment, holding Scabbers in his hands.


End file.
